NEW YORK -- Every spring for the past five years, Americans have gathered in the small town of Mulberry, Arkansas, for a festival in celebration of an all-American snack: edamame.
Edamame -- the Japanese word for these young soybeans, often eaten with salt straight from the pod -- is not the sort of food one might expect to find at the center of a festival in Arkansas accompanying a barbecue cookout and an antique car show. Most Americans' first exposure to the snack is as an appetizer in Asian restaurants. In fact, China still provides a large share of the edamame that finds its way into American bowls.
